Take advantage of this by being a model patient. Brush and floss regularly. Eat a healthy diet, filled with plenty of fruit and vegetables. And keep up with regular check-ups and appointments, because your visits to the dentist are what determine whether you need a quick clean or a more extensive treatment. To make the former more likely, give your teeth the tender love and care that they deserve.
This is definitely the best brush for the buck since it uses new click style and have full cleaning power. I wouldn’t consider older Essence model at all due to lack of brushhead choices and difficulty of cleaning. I’m surprised they are still selling them considering Essence+ is out.
The unique characteristic of a sonic toothbrush is the way it creates a secondary cleaning action (one that helps to clean beyond where the brush’s bristles actually touch) due to the manner in which it agitates the fluids that surround your teeth. (Here’s how this works.)
Since our mouths contain bacteria and the bathroom does as well, it’s common to wonder if your toothbrush stays clean enough with just a rinse after brushing, especially since some products now claim to sanitize. Toothbrush sanitizing, however, is not the same as sterilizing. Sanitation means 99.9 percent of bacteria are reduced. With sterilization, all living organisms are destroyed.
This is the main focus of this page. Trying to determine which model seems to make a best (most reasonable) choice in terms of effectiveness, functionality, reliability and so forth, while also keeping cost to a minimum.
A dental scraper (or pick) is essentially the same kind of device that your dentist uses to coax the tartar from your teeth during intensive cleaning. You can buy these in pharmacies and drugstores. They are long and thin, with a hooked metal end. In fact, they can look a little daunting, but scraping should never be painful. Take your pick, stand in a well-lit room, with a mirror and gently scrape at the white patches of tartar.
If plaque is left on a subgingival (under the gum) surface undisturbed, not only is there an increased risk of tooth decay, but it will also go on to irritate the gums and make them appear red and swollen[1] Some bleeding may be noticed during tooth brushing or flossing. These are the signs of inflammation which indicate poor gum health (gingivitis).[12][1]
One of the fancier brushes in the Sonicare line, the Philips Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Connected not only has far more cleaning settings than you need (three total, each with multiple speeds), it can connect to an app on your phone via Bluetooth that’s meant to track if you’re adequately brushing every part of your mouth. (See the What about “smart” toothbrushes? section) The app shows an illustration of a mouth that starts out tinged yellow, and it gets whiter as you brush your teeth over the course of two minutes. The areas of your mouth that you fail to brush well enough will stay yellow, in theory. In reality, the location tracking wasn’t accurate enough to give us much useful information about this. The app divides the mouth into six areas, and it could reliably tell if I was neglecting either the front or back of teeth, but not if I was missing one specific tooth. The app also expects you to brush the areas of your mouth in a specific order, and if I moved the brush to a part of my mouth where the app wasn’t expecting it to be, it didn’t pick up on that. When a brush like this costs about as much as an uninsured office visit to a dentist, I’m going to stick to getting brushing advice from a professional.
Dental hygienists wear safety glasses, surgical masks, and gloves to protect themselves and patients from infectious diseases. When taking x rays, they follow strict procedures to protect themselves and patients from radiation.
You say that you’ll buy replacement heads every month or two. Why so frequently? The ADA recommends replacing toothbrushes every 3-4 months. Do these heads really need to replaced that much more frequently?
As an alternative to the Philips Sonicare, we’ve also had our eye on the Oral-B White Pro 1000 ($39.97; amazon.com), which is comparable in price. Also a best-seller on Amazon, with a 4.4 out of 5-star rating, the White Pro 1000 is another good option for those looking to up their oral hygiene game. According to Oral-B, this toothbrush can “remove 300% more plaque along the gumline than a regular manual toothbrush.”
Between cleanings by a dental hygienist, good oral hygiene is essential for preventing tartar build-up which causes the problems mentioned above. This is done through careful, frequent brushing with a toothbrush, combined with the use of dental floss or interdental brushes to prevent accumulation of plaque on the teeth.[9] Powered toothbrushes reduce dental plaque and gingivitis more than manual toothbrushing in both short and long term.[10] Further evidence is needed to determine the clinical importance of these findings.[10]
Why: The DiamondClean Smart has some handy sidekicks—its connected app and smart sensor suite. It keeps track of where you brush, where you miss, and where you need to pay more attention. It removes up to 100% more stains in 3 days,** removes up to 10x more plaque* and leaves gums up to 7x healthier in 2 weeks*.
One Concern I have with the high end toothbrush is that the small metal point that you snap the toothbrush on after awhile comes out. It is impossible to re-insert and therefore I have to throw the entire unit out.
Sometimes a higher price tag is justified by the number of modes the electric toothbrush comes equipped with. There are models that allow users to adjust a variety of settings based on their current needs. For instance, some of those settings include deep cleaning mode, sensitive gums mode, whitening mode and massage mode. These modes are also often accompanied by the ability to change between rotating, oscillating, vibrating and pulsating motions.
Aside from these older tests, we didn’t find any independently conducted research that both draws the conclusion that one model or type is better than another and explains the process and results. And none of our experts differentiated between the plaque removal ability in any of the types or models of brushes available.
Maintaining good oral health is easy with the Philips Sonicare e-Series Standard toothbrush heads. Designed to work with Advance, Essence, Elite, CleanCare, and Xtreme handles, these screw-on replacement brush heads feature an angled neck and contoured bristles to help you easily maneuver the brush and focus on hard-to-reach areas where plaque can hide. The blue reminder bristles fade to let you know when it’s time for replacement. Replace your brush head every three months for best results.
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If your battery dies, contact the merchant or store if it’s under a certain period of time to invoke the warranty, but if it’s after an extended period of time, contact the maker (Oral-B, Philips). It’s not unheard of for them to send you a new brush for nothing if your battery dies.
If you do not press the Flexcare+ to hard against your teeth it feels like a really professional cleaning tool at the dentist in a positive way, 2 times every day. Buy!! I will be very surprised if you ever regret it. Most probably you will think, why did I not buy this before and why does not more people know about it as it is such a difference. This product is crazy good I would say and I am picky about products and Philips have made me disappointed several times last 10 years, but not this time. It is an amazing product.
Everyone develops plaque because bacteria are constantly growing in our mouths, which is not necessarily easy to see. Plaque that is not removed from around the gum line can cause inflammation and irritation to the gums around your teeth, leading to gingivitis (red, swollen, bleeding gums). If gingivitis is not treated, it can progress to periodontal disease and, possibly, tooth loss.
The Goby has everything we look for (two-minute timer, rechargeable battery) and the company can deliver new brush heads every few months with a subscription. However, it offers only one brush head type.
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The longer that plaque stays on the tooth surface, the harder and more attached to the tooth it becomes. That is when it is referred to as calculus and needs to be removed by a dental professional.[1] If this is not treated, the inflammation will lead to the bone loss and will eventually lead to the affected teeth becoming loose.[13]
In addition, we invested over 50 hours in researching, evaluating, and testing the best powered toothbrushes widely available to find the best one. (On a personal note, the last time I went to get my teeth cleaned, both the dentist and hygienist tripped over themselves to compliment the condition of my teeth, even though I hadn’t gotten a cleaning in three years, drink coffee every day, and eat healthy sums of candy.)
The information on this page applies to the following models: HX3211/23 , HX3281/32 , HX3211/30 , HX3631/08 , HX3631/04 , HX5350/02 , HX5581/02 , HX4101/02 , HX5352/46 , HX4101/72 , HX3551/02 , HX3881/02 , HX3881/03 , HX3211/17 , HX3211/33 , HX3351/02 , HX3631/02 , HX3631/03 , HX3631/06 , HX3631/07 , HX5351/46 . more less
Even my several years old Flexcare has stronger vibration than both Diamondclean and Essence+. That is a mid range model and I can only assume they improved design to reduce this unwanted vibration. Some people may take this as having less cleaning power, however I do not agree on this view. Even old essence model is rated at 31,000 and only reason it gets negative points is due to lack of brushhead options.
We love that you’re thinking of your future career so early, Emily! If teeth and dental work are something you enjoy and have a passion for, a career in dental hygiene could be a great choice for you. Every job will have pros and cons, like this article mentions, but don’t let that stop you from achieving your dream career!
Try gargling for 5 min with a mouthful of coconut oil .I came across this somewhere and have found it effective .No dentist can say it is abrasive .Most toothpaste are loaded with abrasive material and is one of the main reasons for teeth wear and tear.
The Sonicare 2 and 3 Series toothbrushes don’t fit that mold. These models were introduced as “cheaper alternatives,” evidently to cover specific price points in the line up. And it seems that their design, as mentioned above, tends to reflect that.
Waterik is the undisputed champion when it comes to water flossers. But, not too many people know that they also make a pretty good electric toothbrush. Perhaps, they got tired of the never-ending argument about flossing vs brushing and decided to dominate both sides.
1998 – Registered dental hygienist in alternative practice (RDHAP): RDHAPs may provide services for homebound persons or at residential facilities, schools, institutions and in dental health professional shortage areas without the supervision of a dentist. RDHAPs can provide patient care for up to 18 months and longer if the patient obtains a prescription for additional oral treatment from a dentist or physician .[39]

Comments: The Essence isn’t as glamorous a brush as the more modern Sonicares but it creates the same 31,000 brush-strokes-per-minute brushing action they do. However, as compared to higher-end models, this one’s mechanism seems to be less powerful. And from what we’ve read in terms of user comments, people who have owned other models may not be satisfied with the brushing experience this one delivers.
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CVS Rechargeable Sonic (discontinued): Not too expensive as brushes go, but requires users to press the power button multiple times to cycle through the superfluous brushing modes to turn the brush off.
In addition to achieving an associate’s degree in dental hygiene from an accredited institution, individuals interested in becoming dental hygienists must successfully pass a state-authorized licensure examination, as well as the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination. Generally, the national examination assesses a candidate’s knowledge of the practice of dental assisting, while state or regional examinations are typically designed to assess a hygienist’s clinical skills.
It seems most did think that the DiamondClean was the better brush. But we’d be hesitant to think that from what we read that anyone was really suggesting that they felt that using it was over 3 times better than when a brush like the ProResults was used (the ratio calculated from the list above).
About 95 percent of dental hygienists were employed in dentists’ offices as of 2011, where they earned an average of $33.69 an hour and $70,070 a year in 2011. The few employed by outpatient care centers made an average of $69,220 a year, and those working in physician’s offices made an average of $64,160 a year. Nearly 600 dental hygienists were employed directly by the federal government in 2011, reporting a relatively low average salary of $53,960 a year.
String cords, on the other hand, are hard to get around your finger and they often rip while flossing. Not to mention, sometimes it is quite difficult to reach the rear teeth of your mouth. However, if you have tight space between your teeth, no toothbrush will do the job as efficiently as a flossing cord.
The best electric toothbrushes for Senior Citizens. – Elder persons in different age groups, with differing situations, need different features. This page discusses the pros and cons of various models in meeting those needs.
G3 Premium Gum Care – $12.25 – This is another BrushSync head. This one is designed with soft, flexible bristles on its side that adapt to gum contours. It comes in Standard size only. Bristle stiffness = soft.
I personally preferred the Sonicare. Perhaps my Oral-B was told tech (likely), but I much preferred the vibrations to the rotating head. Also the batter life was abysmal… currently I go about 2 months on a charge on the Sonicare.
Additional Oral-b features – Information about the Oral-b Bluetooth/Smartphone app and the wireless Smartguide, as well as what we think of them. Also details about Oral-b brushing timers, quadrant timers and brushing pressure indicators, as well as charging units, operating voltages and battery types.
Sonicare’s newest group of brushes are the BrushSync heads. They’re unique because they contain a microchip whose presence can be detected by BrushSync capable toothbrush handles. (Right now that’s just the models that make up the DiamondClean Smart line.)